Kerala assembly gets fired up over conduct of minister's son

There were uproarious scenes in the assembly on Friday after speaker K Radhakrishnan refused a discussion on the attack on a girl student by Kerala electricity minister AK Balan’s son.

Raising the issue, Congress member PC Vishnunath alleged the girl had been pushed off her scooter, dragged and kicked by three male students during the day on a busy road in Thiruvananthapuram on January 24. Police tried to cover up the case, he said.

When opposition leaders insisted on a reply on this from Balan, he refused to oblige.

Vishnunath said the girl, a third-year law student of the government law college, had complained of harassment by the accused ever since she stopped working with a students’ outfit. She also moved the State Women Commission about the harassment she faced but failed to get justice, he said.

State home minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan said there had been a serious lapse on the part of police. He said police had registered a case on February 16 and an officer was placed under suspension for not registering the case. Opposition leader and former CM Oommen Chandy said it was a shame that police acted almost three weeks after the incident.